Container with hinge pin lock

ABSTRACT

A hinge pin lock for a molded plastic container includes a locking tab molded with an upper rim of the container and connected to the upper rim by a living hinge. The locking tab is pivotable from an open position to a locked position. A channel is formed in the upper rim and is sized to receive a hinge pin of a container lid. The channel includes engagement structure that secures the locking tab in the locked position.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

(NOT APPLICABLE)

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

(NOT APPLICABLE)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a molded plastic container and, moreparticularly, to such a container with a hinge pin lock and a moldedplastic lid with integrated plastic hinge pins.

Molded plastic containers come in various designs. The materials areinexpensive and durable and are used worldwide for shipping and storageapplications. In a current design, a container includes a lid that issecured using metal hinge pins. Metal pins advantageously provide astrong connection of the lid to the container, and assembly of thecontainer can be automated. The metal hinge pins also provide very goodtamper resistance. These features are important for industrialapplications. The metal hinge pins, however, have some negativeattributes as they add cost, are more difficult to recycle, are moredifficult to assemble, and can even cause injuries.

It would be desirable to provide a container that can maintain theadvantages of the metal pins while using an integrated plastic hinge.Generally, plastic hinge lids and integrated hinge pins can be attachedto a container with simple snap-in hinges. These constructions, however,do not provide sufficient rigidity and tamper resistance and typicallyhave been used for less demanding applications.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to preferred embodiments, a molded plastic container may beprovided with a locking feature that can serve to lock a container lidwith plastic hinge pins to thereby achieve the advantages of a metalhinge pin without the disadvantages. The lid lock is preferablyconnected to the container via a living hinge and molded with thecontainer.

In an exemplary embodiment, a hinge pin lock is provided for a moldedplastic container. The hinge pin lock includes a locking tab molded withan upper rim of the container and connected to the upper rim by a livinghinge. The locking tab is pivotable from an open position to a lockedposition. A channel is formed in the upper rim and is sized to receive ahinge pin of a container lid. The channel includes engagement structurethat secures the locking tab in the locked position.

The locking tab may include at least one hook that engages theengagement structure in the locked position. The locking tab preferablyincludes two hooks on opposite sides thereof, where the hooks engage theengagement structure in the locked position. The hooks may be providedwith a reverse tapered surface and a shelf, where the engagementstructure includes shoulders corresponding to each shelf of the hooks.The shelf of each hook may engage a corresponding one of the shouldersin the locked position.

An inside surface of the locking tab may include a curved recess that isshaped to accommodate the hinge pin. In this context, the channel maydefine a curved pocket that is shaped to accommodate the hinge, wherethe curved recess and the curved pocket define a substantiallycylindrical cage for the hinge pin.

In another exemplary embodiment, a container includes a container bodyincluding an upper rim, a container lid pivotably secured to the upperrim via a hinge pin, and the hinge pin lock formed in the upper rim andsecuring the hinge pin. The container lid may include a plurality ofintegral hinge pins, where the upper rim includes a plurality of pinchannels. The integral hinge pins are secured in the pin channels. Thecontainer body may include two long sides and two short sides, where thepin channels are positioned along the long sides, and the containerincludes four hinge pin locks spaced along each of the long sides. Inone arrangement, the pin channels are constructed such that the hingepins are secured in the pin channels in a snap fit.

An inside surface of the locking tab may include a curved recess that isshaped to accommodate the hinge pin. In this context, the channel maydefine a curved pocket that is shaped to accommodate the hinge, wherethe curved recess and the curved pocket define a substantiallycylindrical cage for the hinge pin.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, a method of making a plasticcontainer includes the steps of (a) molding a container body includingan upper rim, and (b) molding a container lid pivotably securable to theupper rim via an integrally molded hinge pin. Step (a) includesintegrally molding a hinge pin lock in the upper rim by (1) molding alocking tab with the upper rim and connecting the locking tab to theupper rim by a living hinge, where the locking tab is pivotable from anopen position to a locked position, and (2) molding a lock channel inthe upper rim to receive the hinge pin of the container lid. Molding thelock channel may include molding engagement structure with the lockchannel that is shaped to secure the locking tab in the locked position.

Step (b) may include molding the container lid with a plurality of hingepins, and step (a) may include forming a plurality of pin channels inthe upper rim. In this context, assembling the plastic container may bepracticed by securing the hinge pins of the container lid in the pinchannels of the container body, securing at least one of the hinge pinsin the lock channel, and pivoting the locking tab from the open positionto the locked position to lock the at least one of the hinge pins in thelock channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a molded plastic container includinghinge pin locks;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are close-up views of the hinge pin locks;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container with a container lidattached and the hinge pin locks in an open position;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are close-up views of the hinge pin lock in the open andlocked positions, respectively;

FIG. 7 shows the hinge pin lock in an open position; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the hinge pin lock in a lockedposition and securing a hinge pin of the container lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings, a molded plastic container 10 includeslong sides 12, short sides 14 and an upper rim 16. The upper rim isprovided with a plurality of pin channels 18 as well as one or more lockchannels 20.

A container lid 22 may be formed in two parts, one each pivotallyattached to the container long sides 12 by a plurality of integratedhinge pins 24. The lid 22 is secured to the container 10 from the toppreferably via a snap-in construction of the hinge pins 24 into the pinchannels 18 and lock channels 20.

The container 10 also includes one or several hinge pin locks 26 thatserve to lock a corresponding one or several hinge pins in a respectivelock channel 20. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the container is preferablyprovided with four hinge pin locks 26 spaced along each of the longsides 12 of the container 10. Each hinge pin lock 26 includes a lockingtab 28 integrally molded with the upper rim 16 of the container 10 andconnected to the upper rim by a living hinge 30.

The lock channels 20 include engagement structure that secures thelocking tab 28 in a locked position. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8,the locking tab includes at least one, preferably two, hooks 32 thatengage the engagement structure in the lock channel 20 in the lockedposition. The engagement structure may be defined by shoulders 34 in thelock channel 20. The hooks 32 are constructed with a reverse taperedsurface and a shelf 36. In a locked position, the shelf 36 of each hook32 engages a corresponding one of the shoulders 34 in the lock channel20.

After securing the hinge pins 24 of the container lid 22 in the channels18, 20, the locking tab 28 is pivoted from its open position to the lockposition. As the reverse tapered surfaces of the hooks 32 engage thechannel opening, the channel opening is displaced outward until theshelf 36 of the locking tab 28 clears the shoulders 34 of the channel20. The channel 20 then resiliently retracts to a position in which thelocking tab 28 is locked in place (see FIG. 8). Once locked, the hingepin 24 cannot be removed without breaking the hinge pin or damaging thelocking tab 28 with a tool.

To facilitate opening and closing of the container lid 22, an insidesurface 38 of the locking tab 28 is formed as a curved recess that isshaped to accommodate the hinge pin 24. The channels 18, 20 define acurved pocket that is shaped to accommodate the hinge pins. The curvedrecess of the inside surface 38 and the curved pocket define asubstantially cylindrical “cage” for the hinge pin 24. With the lockingtab 28 in its locked position, the hinge pin 24 is easily rotatable tofacilitate opening and closing of the lid 22.

The structure of the preferred embodiments replaces the conventionalmetal hinge pin with molded plastic hinge pins while maintainingsecurity and automated manufacturing features. The hinge pin lockincludes a locking tab that is connected to the container by a livinghinge and molded with the container. The use of all plastic materialsalso provides for easy recyclability.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A hinge pin lock for a molded plasticcontainer, the hinge pin lock comprising: a locking tab molded with anupper rim of the container and connected to the upper rim by a livinghinge, the locking tab being pivotable from an open position to a lockedposition; and a channel formed in the upper rim, the channel having anupwardly facing opening and being sized to receive a hinge pin of acontainer lid, wherein the locking tab in the open position is pivotableby the living hinge to a position substantially perpendicular to theupward facing opening of the channel such that the channel can receivethe locking tab and the hinge pin, the channel including engagementstructure that secures the locking tab in the locked position.
 2. Ahinge pin lock according to claim 1, wherein the locking tab comprisesat least one hook that engages the engagement structure in the lockedposition.
 3. A hinge pin lock according to claim 2, wherein the lockingtab comprises two hooks on opposite sides thereof, the hooks engagingthe engagement structure in the locked position.
 4. A hinge pin lockaccording to claim 3, wherein the hooks comprise a reverse taperedsurface and a shelf, and wherein the engagement structure comprisesshoulders corresponding to each shelf of the hooks, the shelf of eachhook engaging a corresponding one of the shoulders in the lockedposition.
 5. A hinge pin lock according to claim 1, wherein an insidesurface of the locking tab comprises a curved recess that is shaped toaccommodate the hinge pin.
 6. A hinge pin lock according to claim 5,wherein the channel defines a curved pocket that is shaped toaccommodate the hinge, the curved recess and the curved pocket defininga substantially cylindrical cage for the hinge pin.
 7. A containercomprising: a container body including an upper rim; a container lidpivotably secured to the upper rim via a hinge pin; and a hinge pin lockformed in the upper rim of the container body and securing the hingepin, the hinge pin lock including: a locking tab molded with the upperrim and connected to the upper rim by a living hinge, the locking tabbeing pivotable from an open position to a locked position, and a lockchannel formed in the upper rim, the lock channel being sized to receivethe hinge pin of the container lid, the lock channel includingengagement structure that secures the locking tab in the lockedposition, wherein the container lid comprises a plurality of integralhinge pins, and wherein the upper rim comprises a plurality of pinchannels, the integral hinge pins being secured in the pin channels,wherein the locking tab comprises two hooks on opposite sides thereof,the hooks engaging the engagement structure in the locked position,wherein the hooks comprise a reverse tapered surface and a shelf, andwherein the engagement structure comprises shoulders corresponding toeach shelf of the hooks, the shelf of each hook engaging a correspondingone of the shoulders in the locked position.
 8. A container according toclaim 7, wherein the container body comprises two long sides and twoshort sides, and wherein the pin channels are positioned along the longsides, the container comprising four hinge pin locks spaced along eachof the long sides.
 9. A container according to claim 7, wherein the pinchannels are constructed such that the hinge pins are secured in the pinchannels in a snap fit.
 10. A container according to claim 7, wherein aninside surface of the locking tab comprises a curved recess that isshaped to accommodate the hinge pin.
 11. A container according to claim10, wherein the channel defines a curved pocket that is shaped toaccommodate the hinge, the curved recess and the curved pocket defininga substantially cylindrical cage for the hinge pin.
 12. A method ofmaking a plastic container comprising: (a) molding a container bodyincluding an upper rim; and (b) molding a container lid pivotablysecurable to the upper rim via an integrally molded hinge pin, whereinstep (a) comprises integrally molding a hinge pin lock in the upper rimby: molding a locking tab with the upper rim and connecting the lockingtab to the upper rim by a living hinge, the locking tab being pivotablefrom an open position to a locked position, and molding a lock channelin the upper rim with an upwardly facing opening to receive the hingepin of the container lid, wherein in the open position, the locking tabis pivotable by the living hinge to a position substantiallyperpendicular to the upward facing opening of the channel such that thechannel can receive the locking tab and the hinge pin, wherein moldingthe lock channel comprises molding engagement structure with the lockchannel that is shaped to secure the locking tab in the locked position.13. A method according to claim 12, wherein step (b) comprises moldingthe container lid with a plurality of hinge pins, and wherein step (a)comprises forming a plurality of pin channels in the upper rim, themethod further comprising assembling the plastic container by: securingthe hinge pins of the container lid in the pin channels of the containerbody; securing at least one of the hinge pins in the lock channel withthe locking tab in the open position; and pivoting the locking tab fromthe open position to the locked position to lock the at least one of thehinge pins in the lock channel.